Letter sizes, waist sizes and the Tall problem

Three different sizing systems live in one catalog. Here is which one applies to what you are buying.

Updated 20 September 2026 · KECOLS guides

Uniforms use two systems at once and people get caught in the gap. Tops come in letters. Work pants come in a waist and an inseam. Scrub pants come in letters, which means the inseam rides on the letter whether that suits your legs or not.

Measure a garment, not yourself

Body measurements tell you where to start. A garment you already like tells you where to land. Lay a pair of pants flat, measure the waist across and double it, then measure the inseam from crotch to hem. Those two numbers beat any tape around a waist.

What this catalog actually runs

The Kecols range covers XS to 6XL in letter sizes. Work pants run waist 30W to 44W, and 35 pieces carry a Tall inseam. Not every line reaches both ends of that range, so read the size on the piece rather than the range on this page.

The Tall problem, said plainly

Tall sizing in uniforms usually adds two inches to the inseam and one to the body. For someone at six foot four, two inches is a start and not an answer. If you are that tall, expect to hem down from a longer inseam rather than to find a perfect one.

• Between two letter sizes on a knit top: take the smaller, knit gives.
• Between two letter sizes on a woven shirt: take the larger, woven does not.
• Between two waists on a canvas pant: take the smaller, canvas softens and grows half a size.
• Short in the leg on a scrub pant: buy the letter that fits your hip and hem the leg.

Where the chart stops helping

A chest measurement gives a number, not a shape. Two people measure forty two inches: one carries it across the shoulders, the other at the front. The first should order the measured size and the second is usually happier one size up. No chart can tell you which you are.